Turkish FM urges Finland, Sweden to resolve concerns of Turkey

ESKİŞEHİR

Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu said if Sweden and Finland want to be NATO members, they should understand the security concerns of an ally and act in a way to eliminate those concerns.

“We say that alliances cannot be made with countries that support terrorism and impose restrictions on our country regarding the NATO memberships of Sweden and Finland. We don’t have any hidden agenda,” Çavuşoğlu said speaking in central Eskişehir province on June 2.

Reiterating Ankara’s position that Turkey supports the expansion of NATO, Çavuşoğlu asked, “But will the country that supports the terrorist organization that attacked us become an ally?”

“If you’re going to be an ally, we understand your concerns. You also need to understand the concerns of the allies, it is not enough to understand, it must be resolved,” Çavuşoğlu said.

He expressed Turkey’s criticism that some countries impose restrictions on defense industry exports against the country on the grounds of Turkish military operations against the PKK and YPG groups.

“That is our struggle against terror,” he said and stressed that restrictions should be taken against “enemies” and the counties that have problematic relations.

“There are countries in the world where everyone keeps their relations to a minimum, but you impose restrictions on a country like Turkey that makes a very important contribution to Europe,” Çavuşoğlu said.

Stating that as Turkey conducts diplomacy for peace, Çavuşoğlu said, “Is there any country other than us that can bring Russia and Ukraine together at the same table? We are really working for peace in every geography from Africa to Latin America, from Central Asia to the Balkans.”

Citing the plans for exporting Ukrainian agricultural products with the support of Turkey, Çavuşoğlu said, while they try to bring Russia and Ukraine to the negotiation table again, Ankara holds talks for opening a safe corridor for these products.

“As the United Nations, Turkey, Russia and Ukraine, we are working on transporting wheat and grain from Ukraine to the whole world and exporting them to countries in need,” he said.

Some countries ask Turkey to be included in this scheme, the minister also said.